As time went on, two more newly liberated slave armies returned to reinforce the city, turning the city's defense forces from besiegers into the besieged, and their situation became extremely precarious.
However, many Fire Elementals who had retreated from the north also joined the battle here, hoping to escape back to the Molten Core through the underground breach.
Everyone was huddled together, feeling like they were surrounded by enemies. When you stormed into the next room, you had no idea who you would encounter next.
Unas and his group advanced the fastest, so this feeling was very strong. They encountered Rendaen's vanguard squad, several groups of Lava Hounds, fire Fire Elementals such as Flamewaker, and various other slaves along the way. Of course, the largest force was the city defense army.
With the guidance of the forward squad, they figured out the direction and, after a difficult advance, finally joined up with Rendaen's main force. The two sides became one and found support for each other.
The city's garrison was in a more pronounced decline, completely divided in two, and was gradually losing its will to fight.
The Dwarf lord never dreamed that the first to join him would be a slave army led by Unas and his human followers. He cursed his men, whom he had sent out, as utterly useless.
But facing the human Paladin approaching him, Rendaen had no choice but to smile. "Knight Unas, thank you for your timely assistance."
"It is my honor, and I am always ready to serve you, my lord."
With Angela's arrival, the Ice Barrier dissipated the steam in the room, and the temperature immediately dropped. Rendaen wiped away sweat, and whether jokingly or seriously, he said, "If only you could lend me this mage! Haha, she's practically my angel right now!"
"I'm sorry, Angela Archmage is already taken. You can only be her lover's angel," Unas said softly.
Rendaen didn't press the matter further and instead inquired about their situation. Unas answered truthfully, as there was nothing to hide.
"It seems you were not only the fastest to return to the aid, but also the ones who reaped the most rewards. I'll have to rely on Knight Unas to continue to help me." Hearing that the wealthy district had been looted, Rendaen felt a pang of regret, but he didn't show it.
"I am no match for you, my lord. You will soon be the Dark Iron King."
"It's too early to talk about these things now. If I really become king, I will never forget your efforts..."
Just then, a Dwarf soldier came running up, panting, shouting, "Surrender! Surrender! General Angerforge has surrendered!"
General Angerforge was the highest commander of the city's defense forces. Rendaen grabbed the messenger, his eyes wide, "Really?!"
"Yes, yes!" The soldier quickly presented the Warhammer with both hands. "This is a gift from General Angerforge, his weapon."
Rendaen naturally recognized General Angerforge, snatched the Warhammer and examined it closely; it was indeed the general's personal weapon.
"Ha ha!" The Dwarf lord laughed heartily, disregarding his image, he was one step closer to the throne. "What are we waiting for? Bring him here now!"
After the city's defense forces were cut off, General Angerforge, who was originally in the center, was suddenly caught in the melee and surrounded by slave troops from three sides. After all his personal guards were killed, he had no choice but to surrender.
Soon, an elderly Dwarf with white hair and beard was brought before the crowd. Knowing that this was not the time to mock, Rendaen spoke with the general in a very courteous manner and then had someone take him to order the still-resisting enemy to surrender.
The already demoralized enemy surrendered quickly after being ordered to give up resistance by their commander. Rendaen was finally able to get away from that damned underground breach and go to a cooler place.
The great battle between the Water Elemental and Fire Elemental elementals in the north has also ended. Duke Hydraxis won a great victory, annihilating most of the Fire Elementals, but unfortunately, their leader escaped into the Imperial Palace.
At this point, apart from the Imperial Palace, there was no other decent resistance force in Shadowforge City.
After completing their mission, the Boiling Water Corps who went to intercept the Fire Elemental reinforcements also safely retreated to the gap below the city. The continuous flow of seawater caused a small section of the lava river to solidify, and dense water vapor enveloped the area. This environment was the Boiling Water Elementals ' favorite.
The Fire Elementals that had been pursuing them from Molten Core stopped far away, not daring to attack rashly, and the two sides could only stand in a stalemate.
With the initial battle decided, Rendaen is now the de facto ruler of Blackrock Depths. He has incorporated the surrendered city defense troops into his own forces, scattered them and mixed them into the slave army, and sent them to garrison outside the city. He also took advantage of the fact that the Dark Horde has been driven away by the sea to reclaim the land that had been seized.
His main force was sent to block the gates of the Imperial Palace, and the rest was just minor tasks.
While the flood helped them achieve victory, it also caused considerable damage, submerging many low-lying areas. Most severely, a significant portion of the Glowing Wheat farms were destroyed, with many seedlings washed away.
The Water Elemental Duke did not agree to the Dwarf Lord's request to stop bringing in water, as this seawater transport line was still needed to deal with the enemies of Molten Core.
However, if we want to resume production, we must control the floods. With so much Water Elemental, flood control is a simple problem.
After discussing it with the Duke, Rendaen drew up a fixed route for the water to flow. The Water Elementals manipulated the floodwaters that had leaked out from various places to converge on this route, forming an incredible Canal underground.
Even though the water level is much higher than the surrounding terrain, the water flow is precisely controlled to flow only along a fixed path.
Angela, as a water mage, also had a friendly exchange with the Water Elemental Duke, but declined his invitation to fight Molten Core together, as she had more important things to do.
Marshal Windsor bid farewell to Unas, saying, "Now that Blackrock Depths is in Rendaen's hands, surely he won't stop me from leaving?"
The exit to the Burning Steppes has changed hands; it is indeed time for him to return. Unas instructed, "Return immediately after retrieving the letter from the Redridge Mountains. Once the Draconic experts in Dalaran decipher the contents of the secret letter, we can easily bring down the Countess."
Windsor nodded silently and squeezed his hand tightly.
Now that the Burning Steppes are occupied by the Dark Horde and the Black Dragon, the movement of a large force would easily expose its presence. Windsor selected twenty elite soldiers from among the four hundred Stormtroopers to escort him back to the Redridge Mountains.
Unas escorted the marshal and his party to the exit, once again reminding them to be careful, before quickly returning to Shadowforge City.
Before Rendaen could even savor the joy of victory, he was plunged into a mountain of miscellaneous matters: how to settle so many freed slaves, who to send to repair the destroyed farmland and various facilities, how to properly distribute the rewards to his subordinates... He was completely overwhelmed.
Unas found him and freed the Dwarf lord from his chores, saying, "Now, the Dark Blackrock Depths is oppressing Dark Horde, the Imperial Palace is a threat within, and Molten Core is a threat below. Your Lordship should think about how to resolve these three issues; leave those chores to others."